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Summary

I’m a computer scientist with a background in R&D who is passionate about multidisciplinary work with a tangible impact. Leveraging computer & data science to help solve hard problems in science, engineering, and development.

I strongly believe in using (and learning) the right tool for the job. Its about the questions you ask, not the tools you use.

Experience

My background in R&D has always required a very flexible set of skills. From machine learning and UAV design in aerospace, to advising governments on open data and speaking at major international conferences.

I have solid technical roots with extensive experience in consultancy and project management. My main competencies include:

Domains

My main interests lie in application of techniques and tools from computer science to problems in science and engineering. The aerospace, marine, and automotive domains fascinate me especially. I also have a strong interest in education and international development.

Short Biography

Dirk Gorissen holds Masters degrees in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and a PhD in Computational Engineering. He has worked in research labs in the US, Canada, Europe & Africa and worked with a large range of industrial partners, including: Rolls-Royce, BMW, Arcelor Mittal, NXP, and Airbus. His interests span machine learning, data science, and computational engineering. Particularly in the aerospace, automotive, and marine domains. After eight years he left academia to join BAE Systems Research where he worked on big data analysis, deep learning, Integrated Vehicle Health Management and autonomous systems related topics. He then left to work for himself, diving his time between The World Bank (where he advises the Tanzanian Government), Skycap (where he leads the R&D activities), and a number of startups. He has a strong interest in UXVs, is an active STEM Ambassador, organiser of the London Big-O Algorithms & Machine Learning meetups, and is active in the Tech4Good / ICT4D space.

On his return he joined the Computer Modeling and Simulation (COMS) research group (now merged with CoMP), supported by a grant from the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). In the meantime, from 2006 to 2007, he was also enrolled part time in the Master of Artificial Intelligence programme offered by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL). He graduated successfully in July 2007.

Starting from December 2007 he was active as a PhD student in the SUrrogate MOdeling Lab in the INTEC Broadband Communication Networks (IBCN) research group at Ghent University. There he worked on surrogate modeling methods for computer aided engineering and optimization, combining elements of software engineering, HPC, and machine learning. During this time he was also a research visitor at the University of Technology of Gdansk, Poland, and Stellenbosch University, South Africa. In addition he was a member of iMinds, an internationally recognized multidisciplinary ICT research center, and participated in many industrial projects. He also remained affiliated with the CoMP group at the University of Antwerp.

In October 2008 Dirk was awarded a research scholarship from the Scientific Research Fund Flanders to cover a 6 month research visit to the Dept. of Electronics at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. There he worked on evolutionary knowledge based modeling of nonlinear devices. In March 2010 he successfully defended his PhD dissertation, thus obtaining a doctorate in Engineering Science from Ghent University. The tools he developed during his PhD are now used in many institutions, both commercially and academically.

After a year a BAE Systems Research the opportunity arose to do paid work on Taarifa, an open source project he co-founded 3 years earlier. This eventually resulted in him leaving BAE and working as a consultant for The World Bank in the Global Practise for Transport and ICT. There he advises the Tanzanian Government on how to manage, update, and track data in the water sector as well as how to conduct UAV operations. He further leads on R&D at UAV startup SkyCap and is a mentor for the Advanced Skills Initiative science to data science fellowship programme. He also taught multi-day Introduction to Machine Learning Courses in London,